Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has approved the reappointment of Prof Dr Amjad Siraj Memon as vice chancellor of Jinnah Sindh Medical University for a second four-year term, citing his strong academic and administrative performance.
Sources said on Thursday that this decision marks a significant departure from the chief minister’s practice over the past two years, during which no vice chancellor in Sindh was granted a second term despite sustained political and bureaucratic pressure.
In Dr Memon’s case, however, the chief minister was persuaded to revise his stance in view of what officials described as “exceptional performance and institutional stability” at the university.
The move is also expected to have wider implications across the province’s higher education sector. With the precedent now set, the path appears to have been cleared for the possible reappointment of Khalid Iraqi, vice chancellor of the University of Karachi, whose current tenure is due to expire on July 28 this year.
Similarly, sources indicated that the decision has strengthened prospects for an extension in the tenure of Tariq Rafi, chairman of the Sindh Higher Education Commission, whose four-year term is set to conclude in June.
Officials maintained that any further extensions or reappointments would be decided in accordance with performance benchmarks and prevailing rules, but acknowledged that the reappointment of the JSMU vice chancellor had reshaped expectations within Sindh’s higher education landscape.
